


Iskierka's Great Idea

by slightlytookish



Category: Temeraire - Naomi Novik
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-22
Updated: 2013-08-22
Packaged: 2017-12-24 07:29:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/937041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/pseuds/slightlytookish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iskierka is just planning for the future. There is no need for anyone to be alarmed.</p>
<p>Spoilers for Blood of Tyrants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Iskierka's Great Idea

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place immediately after Part 2 of Blood of Tyrants, so there are spoilers for that book along with the rest of the series.

Iskierka dried off the others as Granby asked, but she kept Immortalis for last, and when they were all finally alone she decided to broach the subject. "Immortalis, I think you ought to give me an egg. Don't you agree?"

Immortalis shook off the last drops of water from his wings and gave her a stern look, but did not answer right away. Iskierka was not surprised – Immortalis was an older dragon, and a quiet one, but he made up for his reserved nature by being so very wise when he did speak, unlike that great idiot Temeraire, who was always bellowing his opinions and hatching ideas without the slightest bit of sense; but no, Iskierka had resolved not to think of _him_ any longer, not after the way he had carried on with Mei.

Now Granby looked at her suspiciously, which was unfair, Iskierka thought, because it was not as if she had done anything yet – she was only planning for the future, just as Granby said she ought to do. "You don't have another egg already, do you, my dear?"

"No, not yet, only you did say after the last that I must keep you informed, and so I am," Iskierka replied. "I am thinking only of you, and of Captain Little too, since I know that you are together again: romantically, I mean." 

Granby's face looked redder than usual. "How the devil do you know that?" he cried. Little, for his part, looked very pale.

"Oh, I am not _stupid_ ," Iskierka said, rolling her eyes. "Did you think I would not notice you two sneaking off together? Anyway, you smell of him, and-" she leaned over to sniff at Little, "-he smells of you, so there is no use trying to hide it."

"Good Lord," Granby said, still blushing furiously, as Little turned to Immortalis with a questioning look.

"She is not wrong," was all that Immortalis said, and Little buried his face in his hands, looking absolutely mortified.

"I do not know why you're both carrying on so," Iskierka said. "It is not as if I mind; I know that Little makes you happy, and he is quite handsome for a man, though he will never be as handsome as you, Granby."

At that Little looked up and laughed. "She is right about that," he said, but Granby seemed even more embarrassed, if possible.

"You mustn't say things like that, dear," he said to her. "It's terribly rude, and not at all true, either."

"But even Little agrees," Iskierka said, puzzled. "He cannot have missed his nose, after all, and although it is quite large I think he is suitably handsome in spite of it." Little laughed again, but Immortalis gave a low growl of warning, and she quickly let the matter drop.

"Besides," she went on. "We still have not come to an agreement about the egg, and I wanted to have it all settled before we left. Immortalis, have you decided yet?"

"But what is the urgency?" Granby asked. "If anything you should delay until we're back at the covert, and anyway your egg with Temeraire hasn't even hatched yet, so you might wait until then to decide what to do about your next one."

"There is no urgency; it is nothing to _me_ if I have any more eggs but I am only thinking of you and Little, as I said before," Iskierka replied. "I know that you two cannot marry and have an egg together, as Harcourt and Riley did, since you lack the right parts and because of all those silly human laws. So I thought that if Immortalis and I had an egg together, it might _almost_ serve as an egg for you and Little, too, only it would be so much better than a human egg, of course; for one thing it would breathe fire, so it would be useful."

Granby seemed to be stunned into speechlessness, and Little too, but Immortalis said, "You cannot know if an egg of ours would grow to be a fire-breather. It would be a new cross, and there is no way of knowing what abilities it may or may not have."

"Of course it would breathe fire, any egg of mine would," Iskierka said, bristling with irritation. "Why, I would speak to it in the shell, and give it lots of helpful advice; surely it would listen to _me_."

"Oh Lord, and what other things would you tell it?" Granby grumbled, but Iskierka saw how he and Little were smiling at each other, and holding hands besides, and she was certain that her idea had been a very good one, indeed. 

"Well," Immortalis said at last, "I should not mind trying, as long as Augustine does not object, but only if it is after the battle, since we are both needed there now."

Iskierka merely nodded in agreement, and did not preen and gloat as she might have done when she was ever so much younger, but later, when she and Granby were alone, she asked anxiously, "Did I do right, Granby? Would you and Little be happy, if Immortalis and I had an egg together?"

"We both thought it was very kind of you to think of us," Granby replied, stroking her muzzle affectionately, "and of course, you make me happier than anything in all the world, egg or no: I do hope you will never forget that, dear one."

Iskierka nuzzled Granby's shoulder and let out a happy burst of steam from her spikes, feeling utterly content.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Iskierka's Great Idea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7517479) by [sisi_rambles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sisi_rambles/pseuds/sisi_rambles), [slightlytookish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/pseuds/slightlytookish)




End file.
